The Air Force has decided to let Maj. Jill Metzger take an 18-month leave, according to the Associated Press news service. Metzger is the airman who said she was kidnapped over a three-day period she was missing in Kyrgyzstan last year. The Air Force Office of Special Investigation hasn’t yet completed its investigation of the case. Metzger returned to work at Moody AFB, Ga., shortly after being redeployed from Kyrgyz. (There’s an update on this that says there wil be no 18-month leave.)
Three B-1B Lancers from the 7th Bomb Wing flew over the Indo-Pacific alongside F-16s from the Japanese Air Self Defense Force recently, as part of a joint large force exercise. The mission began and ended in the continental U.S., as the bombers flew 31 hours and landed Jan. 11.